The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, shakes hands with his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolás Maduro, during the former's visit to Venezuela. Photo: EFE/file photo.
The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, denounced the false accusations of drug trafficking made by US Attorney General Pam Bondi against the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, and praised Venezuela’s support to Colombia in the common fight against the scourge of narco-trafficking.
In a social media post on Saturday, August 9, Petro emphasized that Maduro “has helped us decisively defeat drug trafficking at the border.” He also acknowledged Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López’s assistance.
He made these comments in reference to the reward announced by the Trump administration against the constitutional president of Venezuela, whom it accuses, without any evidence, of ties to drug trafficking. He questioned these maneuvers, emphasizing that it is unacceptable that “the solution to the political problems of Venezuelans would involve monetary rewards to kill or capture political leaders.” He also criticized the politicization of the justice system by the United States, noting that “justice must be independent of the government, from Alaska to Patagonia.”
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He added that he does not agree with “Latin American blood being shed by imposition,” in reference to Washington’s actions in Latin America which, in his opinion, seek to promote destabilization in the nations.
Petro’s post was accompanied by a video by the academic and legal expert Rodrigo Uprimny, who criticized US interference in the Colombian judiciary.
Uprimny criticized “the interference of the United States in Colombia, with the secretary of the Department of Justice of that country telling us how to administer justice when they themselves have a convicted president.”
La justicia debe ser independiente del gobierno, desde Alaska hasta la Patagonia.
No estoy de acuerdo que se derrame sangre latinoamericana por imposición. Venezuela y Maduro nos han ayudado a derrotar el narcotráfico en la frontera con decisión. pic.twitter.com/D7CLPACYn8
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) August 9, 2025
The academic also condemned that the United States “is promoting an idea throughout the world that the powerful cannot be prosecuted.”
This complaint is particularly relevant following the historic ruling against former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe Vélez, found guilty of witness tampering and procedural fraud. The US has pressured the Colombian judiciary to prevent Uribe from being convicted.
The US also exerted pressure on the Brazilian judiciary to prevent the far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro from being tried for coup plotting and unconstitutional acts.
(Telesur)
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/DZ
